The present invention relates generally to removable data storage devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to a removable fixed disc drive cartridge and associated playback device.
Mass storage devices are one of many components of modern computers, such as the personal computer (PC). One type of mass storage device is the fixed disc drive. Such drives are used to store operating systems, applications, and user data. As PC""s become less expensive, storage devices must follow suit. Low cost storage devices are currently being driven by the sub-$1000 PC market, and will soon be driven by the sub-$500 PC market. The drives that will be incorporated into such systems will need to cost on the order of about 12% of the total system cost. Thus, there is a current need to provide a low cost fixed disc drive.
One way that users sometimes increase the storage capacity of their systems is by using removable media storage devices, such as floppy disc drives, tape drives, CD-ROM drives, DVD-ROM drives, and removable media fixed disc drives. Generally, the flexibility of removable media storage devices requires the user to sacrifice performance as compared to a standard fixed disc drive. For example, CD-ROM""s currently provide about 630 megabytes of storage capacity, and CD-ROM drives are able to read data at a speed of about 6 megabytes/second. A removable media hard drive known as the ORB(trademark), available from Castlewood Systems Inc., of Pleasanton, Calif., provides storage capacity of 2.2 gigabytes per disk, and the playback device is able to read data from the disk at a rate of about 12.2 megabytes/second. In contrast, current fixed disc drives provide data capacity in excess of 50 gigabytes, and transfer rates in excess of 22 megabytes/second. Thus, there is also a need to provide a removable media storage system having the performance of standard fixed disc drives.
Providing such performance in a removable storage device is becoming increasingly important as new uses are found for the personal computer For example, streaming audio and video files are routinely transferred over the internet. Such data streams can often consume large amounts of storage capacity. Other forms of data, whether digital, or analog, are now transferred using cable, satellites, and the television broadcast spectrum. Recently, digital video recorders have entered the consumer electronics market, allowing users to essentially time-shift selected broadcasts. These devices use fixed disc drives to essentially function as a video cassette recorder. Providing a removable media drive for such application would allow users to save stored broadcasts as easily as videotapes are currently stored. Thus, there is also a need outside of the personal computer market for low-cost, high performance removable media drives.
The present invention addresses these and other problems, and offers other advantages over the prior art.
The present invention relates to removable fixed media storage devices which solve the above-mentioned problems.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a removable fixed disc cartridge and related playback device are disclosed. The fixed disc cartridge is sealed from the environment, and includes at least one rotatable fixed disc and at least one related head. The cartridge is removably coupleable to the playback device, and provides traditional fixed disc drive characteristics and functions when so coupled.